Wright Morris (1910–98) was a photographer, essayist, literary critic, and author of thirty-three books including The Field of Vision, The Home Place, and Plains Song: For Female Voices, all available in Bison Books editions. David Madden is the Robert Penn Warren Professor of Creative Writing emeritus at Louisiana State University and the author of fifty books, eleven of which are novels. Alicia Christensen is Bison Books editor at the University of Nebraska Press. Joseph J. Wydeven is professor emeritus of English and humanities at Bellevue University and the author of Wright Morris Revisited.

• Contents Editor's Introduction 000 Biographical Sketch of Wright Morris 000 [01] Excerpt from The Inhabitants 000 [02] A Man of Caliber 000 [03] Excerpt from My Uncle Dudley 000 [04] Excerpts from Will's Boy: A Memoir 000 [05] Our Endless Plains 000 [06] The Rites of Spring 000 [07] The Origin of a Species: 19421957 000 [08] Excerpt from Love Among the Cannibals 000 [09] Excerpt from One Day 000 [10] A Conversation with Wright Morris [11] The Safe Place 000 [12] Glimpse into Another Country 000 [13] Letter to a Young Critic 000 [14] Technique and Raw Material 000 [15] The Ram in the Thicket 000 [16] The Question of Privacy 000 [17] The Sound Tape 000 [18] Excerpt from The Deep Sleep 000 [19] The Character of the Lover 000 [20] Excerpt from The Huge Season 000 [21] Made in U.S.A. 000 [22] Excerpts from In Orbit 000 [23] Wake Before Bomb 000 [24] Excerpt from Plains Song: For Female Voices 000 Source Acknowledgments 000 Further Reading Suggestions 000

“[Morris] is a writer of truly astonishing beauty and power. . . . Not to know Wright Morris is not to know the silent, often lovely, stretches of ourselves. In these trackless, silent landscapes of the mind, we could have no better guide than Wright Morris.”—Chicago Tribune Book World |“It would in fact be hard to call to mind another novelist of Mr. Morris’s generation who has been able to sustain through such a large body of work so clear a vision of the essence of the American experience.”—New York Times|“Here is the maestro, a national treasure, a noble prize, cause for wonder.”—Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio|“Through writing he strives to make sense of his own life and of American lives in general, and to save and recapture what might otherwise be forgotten.”—Edward Abbey, New York Times |""Prefaced with a fine biographical sketch by Joseph Wydeven as well as Madden's introduction, and supplemented with Morris's photographs, this reader will cultivate a much-deserved wider audience for Morris.""—K.L. Cole, Choice |""This anthology, which includes a biographical sketch by Joseph J. Wydeven, is indeed a treasury. I hope it will fall into the hands of young readers who have never even heard of Morris, sending them on a voyage of discovery.""—Christianity Today

Wright Morris (1910–98) was a photographer, essayist, literary critic, and author of thirty-three books including The Field of Vision, The Home Place, and Plains Song: For Female Voices, all available in Bison Books editions. David Madden is the Robert Penn Warren Professor of Creative Writing emeritus at Louisiana State University and the author of fifty books, eleven of which are novels. Alicia Christensen is Bison Books editor at the University of Nebraska Press. Joseph J. Wydeven is professor emeritus of English and humanities at Bellevue University and the author of Wright Morris Revisited.

• Contents Editor's Introduction 000 Biographical Sketch of Wright Morris 000 [01] Excerpt from The Inhabitants 000 [02] A Man of Caliber 000 [03] Excerpt from My Uncle Dudley 000 [04] Excerpts from Will's Boy: A Memoir 000 [05] Our Endless Plains 000 [06] The Rites of Spring 000 [07] The Origin of a Species: 19421957 000 [08] Excerpt from Love Among the Cannibals 000 [09] Excerpt from One Day 000 [10] A Conversation with Wright Morris [11] The Safe Place 000 [12] Glimpse into Another Country 000 [13] Letter to a Young Critic 000 [14] Technique and Raw Material 000 [15] The Ram in the Thicket 000 [16] The Question of Privacy 000 [17] The Sound Tape 000 [18] Excerpt from The Deep Sleep 000 [19] The Character of the Lover 000 [20] Excerpt from The Huge Season 000 [21] Made in U.S.A. 000 [22] Excerpts from In Orbit 000 [23] Wake Before Bomb 000 [24] Excerpt from Plains Song: For Female Voices 000 Source Acknowledgments 000 Further Reading Suggestions 000

“[Morris] is a writer of truly astonishing beauty and power. . . . Not to know Wright Morris is not to know the silent, often lovely, stretches of ourselves. In these trackless, silent landscapes of the mind, we could have no better guide than Wright Morris.”—Chicago Tribune Book World |“It would in fact be hard to call to mind another novelist of Mr. Morris’s generation who has been able to sustain through such a large body of work so clear a vision of the essence of the American experience.”—New York Times|“Here is the maestro, a national treasure, a noble prize, cause for wonder.”—Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio|“Through writing he strives to make sense of his own life and of American lives in general, and to save and recapture what might otherwise be forgotten.”—Edward Abbey, New York Times |""Prefaced with a fine biographical sketch by Joseph Wydeven as well as Madden's introduction, and supplemented with Morris's photographs, this reader will cultivate a much-deserved wider audience for Morris.""—K.L. Cole, Choice |""This anthology, which includes a biographical sketch by Joseph J. Wydeven, is indeed a treasury. I hope it will fall into the hands of young readers who have never even heard of Morris, sending them on a voyage of discovery.""—Christianity Today

Wright Morris (1910–98) was a photographer, essayist, literary critic, and author of thirty-three books including The Field of Vision, The Home Place, and Plains Song: For Female Voices, all available in Bison Books editions. David Madden is the Robert Penn Warren Professor of Creative Writing emeritus at Louisiana State University and the author of fifty books, eleven of which are novels. Alicia Christensen is Bison Books editor at the University of Nebraska Press. Joseph J. Wydeven is professor emeritus of English and humanities at Bellevue University and the author of Wright Morris Revisited.

• Contents Editor's Introduction 000 Biographical Sketch of Wright Morris 000 [01] Excerpt from The Inhabitants 000 [02] A Man of Caliber 000 [03] Excerpt from My Uncle Dudley 000 [04] Excerpts from Will's Boy: A Memoir 000 [05] Our Endless Plains 000 [06] The Rites of Spring 000 [07] The Origin of a Species: 19421957 000 [08] Excerpt from Love Among the Cannibals 000 [09] Excerpt from One Day 000 [10] A Conversation with Wright Morris [11] The Safe Place 000 [12] Glimpse into Another Country 000 [13] Letter to a Young Critic 000 [14] Technique and Raw Material 000 [15] The Ram in the Thicket 000 [16] The Question of Privacy 000 [17] The Sound Tape 000 [18] Excerpt from The Deep Sleep 000 [19] The Character of the Lover 000 [20] Excerpt from The Huge Season 000 [21] Made in U.S.A. 000 [22] Excerpts from In Orbit 000 [23] Wake Before Bomb 000 [24] Excerpt from Plains Song: For Female Voices 000 Source Acknowledgments 000 Further Reading Suggestions 000

“[Morris] is a writer of truly astonishing beauty and power. . . . Not to know Wright Morris is not to know the silent, often lovely, stretches of ourselves. In these trackless, silent landscapes of the mind, we could have no better guide than Wright Morris.”—Chicago Tribune Book World |“It would in fact be hard to call to mind another novelist of Mr. Morris’s generation who has been able to sustain through such a large body of work so clear a vision of the essence of the American experience.”—New York Times|“Here is the maestro, a national treasure, a noble prize, cause for wonder.”—Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio|“Through writing he strives to make sense of his own life and of American lives in general, and to save and recapture what might otherwise be forgotten.”—Edward Abbey, New York Times |""Prefaced with a fine biographical sketch by Joseph Wydeven as well as Madden's introduction, and supplemented with Morris's photographs, this reader will cultivate a much-deserved wider audience for Morris.""—K.L. Cole, Choice |""This anthology, which includes a biographical sketch by Joseph J. Wydeven, is indeed a treasury. I hope it will fall into the hands of young readers who have never even heard of Morris, sending them on a voyage of discovery.""—Christianity Today